Gov. Malloy Releases Updated Budget Proposal that Cuts Spending and Includes No Tax Increases
Governor Dannel P. Malloy today released a revised, balanced budget proposal that addresses the entirety of the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis's deficit projection by closing a projected $922 million deficit for FY2017. Falling under the statutory spending cap, this is the only budget presented thus far that tackles the full scope of the challenge. It includes no tax increases.
The proposal identifies and maintains funding for core services and:
- Asks non-union employees, appointees, and elected officials in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches to pay 20 percent for their health care benefits, creating a savings of as much as $5 million per fiscal year moving into the future
- Maintains funding for Community Residential Services for the developmental disabled to continue the state's move toward community based care for the I/DD community
- Maintains $11.8 million for the small hospital pool
- Supports elderly rental assistance and aid to the chronically homeless
- Creates a more equitable distribution of education cost sharing (ECS) grants
- Funds the State Elections Enforcement Commission, Office of State Ethics, and Freedom of Information Commission as independent agencies
- Begins the transition of Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities to nonprofit status effective December 1
"We have an obligation as elected officials to tackle the full scope of our challenge. That means we must align our spending with the revenue we actually have, not the revenue we wish we had. Our expectations need to change - we cannot afford to fund everything we always have. And we need to change the way we budget," Governor Malloy said. "If we are to do what's right for the state, if we are to put Connecticut on a better path for the long-term, then we need to make tough but necessary decisions now to adapt to our new economic reality. That's what this budget does."
**Download: Governor's FY 2017 Revised Midterm Budget Adjustments
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